The White Imperial Army
The White Imperial Army (Белая Имперская Армия), or simply the Imperial Army, composes half of the White Empire's military body, joined by the Imperial Navy. It fields a force of 425,000 active duty front line combatants and a rear force of 125,000 reserve personnel to assist the government in various forms. ''History'' The Imperial Army was formed after the collapse of The Golden Sovereign by Tsar Nikolai Illyich and Grand Marshal Yuri Bulgarin to replace the The Sovereign Imperial Army. ''Structure'' The Imperial Army is overseen mostly by the Tsar and Grand Marshal from the Headquarters of the White Imperial Army in Apazov. Under the Army's command are the Imperial Engineering Brigades, the Imperial Gunnery Brigades, the Imperial Cavalry Brigades, and the Imperial Army Choir. Under the command of the Central Construction Bureau in Apazov are the 7th, 11th, and 14th Reserve Engineering Brigades, the 20th Gunnery Brigade, and the 1st Ceremonial Band. ''Military Districts'' The structure of the Imperial Army is rather simple; the White Empire is split into three military districts. Each district contains a force of roughly 142,000 men divided into four corps. The Northern Military District houses the I, II, III, and IV Corps. The Midlands Military District houses the V, VI, VII, and VIII Corps. The Southern Military District houses the IX, X, XI and XII Corps. The Northern Military District is overseen by the Grand Marshal, the Midlands Military District is overseen by, typically, two Generals, and the Southern Military District is overseen by a Marshal. ''Personnel'' Within the White Empire, there are many means of military service. The most common of these methods is volunteering, followed closely by bloodline. However, another common form of military enlistment is conscription. Conscript Battalions make up a substantial portion of the Imperial Army's overall strength in numbers. However, the Imperial Army has a rather high retention rate for such conscripts, who eventually filter into standard divisions or specialty brigades for the rest of their military service. ''Equipment'' The Imperial Army fields a rather limited selection of field equipment. All soldiers of the Imperial Army are given a pale green field cap, pale green uniform top & trousers, a brown leather ammunition bandoleer, a black leather belt (with canteens, bayonet & scabbard, and spare ammunition pouches), a brown sidor pack, a brown sleeping mat, and black jackboots. Officers of the Imperial Army wear a pale green field cap with a gold and black band, and deep blue trousers with a golden stripe down the seam. All infantry units are given a standard issue musket with additional bayonet and scabbard. Officers are given an ornate, engraved saber and accompanying sheath. Dress uniforms for enlisted personnel are simply their field garb without any accessories. Dress uniforms for officers are commonly a bluish-gray top and deep blue trousers with golden stripe. To accompany the style of the uniform, officers are given bluish-gray colored wheel caps with a gold and black band and a badge featuring the likeness of the emblem of the Imperial Army. Awards are to be displayed over the left pectoral and rank is to be displayed upon the shoulders of the uniform. The officer's saber and scabbard are to accompany the uniform. ''Conflicts'' The First Southern War was primarily a border dispute between the Imperial Army and the Yuzhnyy Armiya. The cause of the First Southern War came about when the Yuzhnyy Armiya attempted to take advantage of the fledgling Imperial Army after the Golden Sovereign had collapsed. Much to the Yuzhnyy Armiya's surprise, the forces stationed in Fort Tanuansk managed to repel most offensives in the region until reinforcements could arrive from Fort Gorgodonaya and Fort Blazovik, which successfully led a counteroffensive into the Yuzhnyy province of Bezymyannyy Prospekt. The counteroffensive was halted by orders of Tsar Nikolai Illyich, and the Imperial Army returned to pre-war borders. The units stationed within Fort Tanuansk, and the fort itself, were given medals for heroism. The Second Southern War is a continuation war between the Yuzhnyy Imperiya Armiya and the Imperial Army, wherein no official declaration of peace was signed between the two nations. Forces from either side routinely engage each other in short skirmishes, wherein few casualties are reported - and most are not from enemy fire. The Second Southern War is seen mostly as a stalemate between the White Empire and the Yuzhnyy Imperiya, and not officially recognized by either nation as an ongoing conflict. The Piracy War is an ongoing conflict between the Imperial Army (and Navy) and Ookanvangolese pirates. While not officially recognized as a war between the White Empire and the Ookanvango people, it has been an ongoing conflict for decades and is the only conflict to be shared by both the Golden Sovereign and White Empire against a single foe. In recent years, the Imperial Navy has begun to effectively counter pirate techniques and prevented numberous raiding parties from beaching. With less pirate activity along the White Empire's coastline and increasingly effective counterpiracy naval tactics, many see the Piracy War as coming to a close. The Expansion Effort is one of many doctrines instated under Tsar Alexsandir, claiming that the area east of The White Empire is rightfully Rodnoy land and that the people must retake what is rightfully theirs. The Imperial Army, after crossing the Paleschkaya River, have recently become engaged with tribalistic peoples. Although fearsome, the tribals have so far proven to be unsuccessful in their efforts to drive out the approaching White Empire. Since the crossing of the Paleschkaya River, the conflict has done nothing but escalate exponentially. Tsar Alexsandir has recently halted the three infantry battalions on the far side of the river, and ordered the rest of their unit be moved in it's entirety - the V Corps.